Chapter 46: C46: Teaser
I contacted the motion capture studio to produce various materials for our upcoming project. At the same time, I led the entire team in the development of "Escape."
The cost of this game isn't low, but it also isn't as high as we'd expected. After completing the budget report, the total development cost of the entire game, including follow-up publicity expenses, is tentatively set at 6 million. Of course, there may be some additional expenses later on, but it shouldn't exceed 8 million.
For a horror game, this budget is relatively large for the genre. And because of that, the entire team is excited. After all, this is our first big project.
Time is moving quickly, and we're steadily making progress. Every day, we are taking little steps.
The art, action, and overall resources are being developed consistently. The plot lines for the game are already completed, and we'll begin the second round of dubbing soon. As we test and refine the mechanics, the protagonist's various in-game actions undergo trial and error.
"Although I feel a little panicky thinking about how scary the finished product will be!"
Ruan Ningxue, sitting at her desk, stared at the conceptual design drawing on her secondary screen with lingering fear. The concept art shows the eerie atmosphere of the game — a mental hospital building shrouded in darkness, blood-soaked scenes filled with corpses, mental patients hiding under beds in dark rooms, and shots of night vision mode from a DV camera.
Just looking at these concept drawings makes the hairs on my neck stand up. Imagine playing the game! And during the development of "Escape," Ruan Ningxue had been sleeping late because she was scared.
Why? Because she had scared herself by trying out the DV that I gave her in the middle of the night! The extreme atmosphere she created in her head made her feel completely unnerved.
Still, thanks to that experience, she designed the original concept art with impressive results, which was in line with what I asked for.
"Yeah! And players can't fight back; all they can do is run." Yang Xin, who was sitting next to Ruan Ningxue, chimed in, clearly echoing her sentiment.
Smiling while working on some action designs, I said, "Doesn't that make it even more atmospheric? If there were guns, it'd turn into an FPS game. Fear comes from lacking firepower, right?"
That's why so many horror games add firearms. It enriches the gameplay and gives players an outlet to vent their fear. This was done well in "Resident Evil."
But, there's a flaw in that approach — the game can easily shift from being a horror experience to just another FPS with horror-themed minions.
After all, terror comes from the lack of firepower. As long as there's enough firepower, fear can be suppressed.
Even looking back at the earlier Resident Evil games, they started to deviate from this balance. Since the fourth generation, the game leaned more into action-packed, shoot-em-up sequences, until the remake brought the focus back to fear and horror, balancing the rhythm perfectly again in Resident Evil 8: Village.
But honestly, most players, they're not too concerned with how scary the game is or how good the rhythm is. All their attention is hooked on Lady Dimitrescu and her three daughters.
"By the way, when do you think we should start warming up on 'Escape'? I've seen a lot of players online asking about our new release," Yang Xin said, her tone curious and a bit of devilish.
It's different now compared to when it was just the three of us in the R&D department. New employees have joined, and they call me Mr. Chen out of respect, rather than using our first names like before.
"Yeah, the development seems to be moving fast. Shouldn't it be online by December?" Ruan Ningxue added, sounding thoughtful.
The scope of "Escape" isn't that large, and most of the workload is focused on action sequences and the production of art assets. The gameplay is straightforward, with almost no need for trial and error, so development has been smooth.
"No need to rush with spending money on promotion right now. We'll start warming up in mid-to-late December" I said, smiling.
"By the way, have you both forgotten what day tomorrow is?"
Both Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue blinked, momentarily confused, before they glanced in the lower right corner of their computer screens.
November 11!
"Singles' Day ( ⚆ _ ⚆ ) ! I've already recorded some promotional materials in advance. We're announcing it tomorrow," I explained, grinning.
"Players have been waiting for over a month, and this is the perfect day to reveal our new game. It just feels right, isn't it? it is also a holiday?" I said, smirking.
As I spoke, I clicked on the short video sitting on my desktop, the warm-up teaser I had prepared. The video was brief, just ten seconds long. At first, the screen was completely dark, and then... a picture slowly appeared. But it wasn't just any normal picture.
It is the night vision mode of the DV camera. A battery indicator is visible in the upper right corner, and a red dot in the upper left corner keeps flashing, indicating that the DV is recording.
The DV captures a scene in my office.
The chair has fallen across the ground, and various documents on the table are deliberately disrupted.
There is no sound in the entire video.
With the DV's night vision view, the whole atmosphere feels eerie and unsettling.
At the ninth second of playback, the DV picture suddenly trembles, as if I, the person filming, was attacked, but strangely, there is still no sound. Then the entire video falls into darkness after playing.
There is silence in the office. Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue look at me for a long time without saying a word.
"Chen, I don't think we should mess with this just to make things exciting," Ruan Ningxue says slowly after holding back for a while. She was still clutching my shirt.
This warm-up obviously hints that we're about to develop a horror game.
But, is this preheating method even grounded?
I wonder if it's not dragging all of us down!
It was released on November eleven, and a DV footage of this was shot at midnight.
Chen, you're really something!
Yang Xin next to me can't hold it in anymore and says, "And Chen, didn't you say you're a warrior of love? 'Escape' has nothing to do with love, and this warm-up feels way off from what we're aiming for!"
"Why can't it have anything to do with love?" I retort. "In recent years, haven't horror game lovers always complained that there aren't any good horror games? Why do I want to develop 'Escape'? It's because of my love for players! Doesn't that make me a warrior of love?"
I love the industry.
I love the players.
I love the readers.
I am one of them.
So ain't I a Warrior in Love.
"As for the world's feedback, don't you think this type of promotion fits the theme of 'Escape'? Plus, it's bound to attract more attention than normal announcements. We need to ride the wave of attention!" I say with utmost seriousness.
Missing Brother Zhong already!!!
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